Phoenix, Arizona - Arizona hunters who were successful in the recent 2018 fall draw probably  noticed some big changes to their mailed hunt permit-tags — with an emphasis on the word “big.”

For decades, hopeful hunters knew when checking their mailboxes that good news always arrived in a small, white business envelope the size of a postcard. All hunt permit-tags mailed from the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) now come in an envelope more than twice that size.

The outside appearance is just one thing. It’s the significant changes inside that matter most:

  • The top half of the perforated mailing consists of two adhesive documents — a carcass/transportation/shipping permit, and the big game hunt permit-tag, which includes a transportation and shipping permit.

While both permits might look somewhat similar, the carcass/transportation/shipping permit is to be filled out “only when the head and carcass are transported to separate locations by different people.” The transportation and shipping permit, part of the hunt permit-tag, is to be filled out “only when submitting wildlife for shipment by common carrier or transportation by another person.”

  • On the back side of the top half of the perforated mailing (upper right corner) is a hunter harvest survey — AZGFD no longer will be mailing a separate hunter harvest survey. The information provided by hunters is critical to estimating total harvest numbers for each species and lays the groundwork for next year’s hunt permit-tag allocations.             

A hunter can visit https://azgfd.com/Hunting/Questionnaires, or scan a QR code with his or her smartphone, to complete the hunter harvest survey (hunt number and hunt permit-tag number are required). For those who might not have online access, a phone number also is provided.

  • As a service to hunters, the mailing also features advertisements for game processing, and guide and taxidermy services.  

For more information, call (602) 942-3000.